Methods for producing a composite packing and a composite packing produced according to said method

ABSTRACT

Methods of producing a laminated package with an opening which is sealed by a tear-off strip or a pouring element as well as a corresponding laminated package are described. To be able to produce a laminated package with such a closure inexpensively, the following steps are provided in the method 
     punching out an opening in a packaging material, 
     coating the packaging material at least in the area of the opening, 
     creating a package sheathing from the coated packaging material, 
     conveying the package sheathing to a filling machine or to an equipment unit from the filling machine, and 
     attaching a tear-open strip to the opening in the package sheathing in the filling machine or in the equipment unit upstream from the filling machine.

This application is a 371 of PCT/EP00/02662 filed Mar. 27, 2000.

This invention concerns two methods of producing a laminated package, inparticular a beverage package, with an opening that is closed by atear-off strip, as well as a laminated package produced by thesemethods.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Liquid products and highly viscous products with lumpy components areoffered today to a great extent in laminated packages. There is often adesire on the part of consumers for laminated packages having a simple,manually functioning opening device in particular. Various types ofopening and pouring elements are known, such as screw closures, snapclosures, adhesive strip closures or tear-off strips. As a rule, theadditional expense associated with attaching such opening and pouringelements substantially increases the cost of the respective laminatedpackage.

The object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensivelaminated package with an opening closed by a tear-off strip and toprovide an inexpensive method of producing such a laminated package.

This object is achieved through the following steps in a firstalternative of a generic method:

punching out an opening-in a packaging material,

coating the packaging material at least in the area of the opening,

creating a package sheathing from the coated packaging material,

conveying the package sheathing to a filling machine or to an equipmentunit upstream from the filling machine, and

attaching a tear-open strip to the opening in the package sheathing inthe filling machine or in the equipment unit upstream from the fillingmachine.

As an alternative, this object is achieved through the following steps:

punching out an opening in a packaging material,

coating the packaging material at least in the area of the opening,

applying a tear-off strip or a pouring element to the opening in thepackaging material in the filling machine or in an equipment unitupstream from the filling machine,

creating a package sheathing from the coated packaging material, and

conveying the package sheathing to a filling machine or to an equipmentunit upstream from the filling machine.

Both of the methods according to this invention are characterized inthat punching out the opening in the packaging material and applying thetear-off strip or the pouring element to the opening in the packagingmaterial are performed in a proven manufacturing process using a fillingmachine in an integrated fashion. Due to the integrated or parallelexecution, the required process steps for producing an opening closed bya tear-off strip or by a pouring element are carried out essentiallywithout requiring any additional time and thus inexpensively. Noseparate applicator for the hole punching, no sealing of an internallabel and no sealing of the tear-off strip or the pouring element arenecessary.

If the filling machine is equipped with a station for sterilization ofthe laminated package, the tear-off strip or the pouring element shouldpreferably be attached before the sterilization zone.

In the case of a filling machine with a mandrel wheel for sealing thebottom of prefabricated package sheathing, it is also advantageous ifthe tear-off strip is mounted on a mandrel of the mandrel wheel. In thiscase, the mandrel is used as an anvil. This is advantageous inparticular when the tear-off strip is attached by ultrasonic welding orhigh-frequency welding. As an alternative, the tear-off strip may alsobe attached by gluing.

A favorable possible application for the tear-off strip or the pouringelement is also obtained when the package sheathing is fed to thefilling machine in such a way that its opening points toward the outsideacross the working direction of the filling machine.

According to another advantageous embodiment of the method according tothis invention, the respective package sheathing may be rotated aboutits longitudinal axis by approximately 90° between a magazine foraccommodating prefabricated package sheathing on the filling machine andthe location where the tear-off strip or the pouring element isattached.

Additional advantageous features of the method according to thisinvention are characterized in the subordinate claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This invention is explained in greater detail below on the basis of adrawing illustrating various embodiments according to a firstalternative of the production method according to this invention,showing schematically in detail:

FIG. 1 a diagram of the process steps for production of prefabricatedpackage sheathing;

FIG. 2 a diagram of a filling machine with a mandrel wheel for closingand sealing the bottom of prefabricated package sheathing according toFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 a diagram of process steps according to this invention on afilling machine, where the tear-off strip is mounted on a mandrel wheelunit upstream from the filling machine;

FIG. 4 a perspective diagram of a device for welding a tear-off strip onthe mandrel of a mandrel wheel;

FIG. 5 a diagram of the process steps within a filling machine operatingby the method according to this invention as shown in FIG. 2, where thetear-off strip is attached in a chain between the mandrel wheel and anaseptic station; and

FIG. 6 the rotation of a prefabricated package sheathing within afilling machine for two production lines.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows the process steps for production of package sheathing. Therolled-up cardboard raw material 1 is coated on one side in thetraditional manner with a barrier layer 2, preferably aluminum foil, andthen is coated on both sides with polyethylene film 3. Before thecoating, openings designed preferably as drip holes are punched in thecardboard raw material 1. However, it is also possible for the openingsto be punched only after coating the cardboard raw material 1 withpolyethylene film on the outside, followed by another coating withaluminum foil and/or polyethylene film. The coated packaging material isthen printed and divided into blanks 4 in a punch and also provided withgrooves or an edge embossing for folding later to form a cube-shapedpackage.

The package blanks 4 are then folded to form a package sheathing 5 andsealed along the overlapping longitudinal edges with an airtight andfluid-tight seal. The package sheathing 5 sealed with a longitudinalseam is folded flat and aligned in rows one after the other and joinedin a certain number to form shipping cartons or the like.

Such prefabricated package sheathing 5 is then sent to a filling machinewhich may have two, three or more production lines. The filling machine6 diagramed in

FIG. 2 has two production lines and is equipped with two magazines 7accordingly. To facilitate the separation of the package sheathings 5,they are subjected to vibration in magazines 7 in a known way andaligned laterally. Sheathings 5 are then removed individually by suctiondevices from magazines 7, shaped into rectangles and pushed onto amandrel 8. The filling machine is equipped with two mandrel wheels 9arranged on a common shaft, each wheel having six mandrels 8 arranged atequal angles.

Various stations which serve to produce the bottom of a package on therespective package sheathing 5 are arranged on the circumference ofmandrel wheels 9. First, the areas of the package bottom to be sealedare activated with hot air. While the respective mandrel wheel 9 isconveying the package sheathing 5 further to a bottom pressing station,rotating transverse folding mechanisms and a longitudinal foldingmechanism shape the bottom of the package. In the bottom pressingstation, the package bottom is then completely pressed and sealed by abottom pressing stamp on the end face of mandrel 8.

Following this, the package 10 is stripped from the mandrel and pushedinto a cell (not further identified) which is designed with a pluralityof other cells on a peripheral endless chain 11 and assumes the role offurther conveyance through various stations along the chain until theyare conveyed away. The arrow A shows the working direction of thefilling machine.

One or more stations for sterilization of the package may be arrangedalong the chain 11 of the filling machine 6 upstream from the fillingstation 12. Sterilization can be performed preferably by injectinghydrogen peroxide vapor into the packages 10 which are open at the top.Downstream from the filling station 12 are arranged sealing tools whichfold the package gable and preferably seal it airtight above the fillinglevel by using ultrasound. The sealing tools are followed by additionalfolding tools which fold the package gable to form a flat roof. Then thepolyethylene is heated with hot air at the gable triangles (so-called“package ears”) and along the narrow sides of package 10, the gabletriangles are folded down and sealed on the narrow sides of package 10.The finished package is then pushed out of the respective cell into astacker (not shown) and finally transferred to a delivery device (notshown) in the next machine cycle.

As shown in FIG. 2, the filling machine 6 according to a firstembodiment of the method according to this invention may have a device15 on mandrel wheel 9′ with which a tear-off strip can be welded orglued to the layered opening of the package sheathing 5. A secondembodiment of the method according to this invention is diagramedschematically in FIG. 3. To allow more time for mounting the tear-offstrip in comparison with the method illustrated in FIG. 2, an additionalmandrel wheel 9′ for mounting the tear-off strip is provided upstreamfrom the mandrel wheel 9 which provides the bottom sealing function ofthe filling machine 6 in this embodiment. The package sheathing 5conveyed in stack 16 is in turn removed by suction devices frommagazines arranged across working direction A of filling machine 6,shaped into rectangles and pushed onto the respective mandrel 8 of theproposed mandrel wheel 9′. Thus, mounting of the tear-off strip isperformed here before the bottom sealing step.

The longitudinal seam of a cube-shaped laminated package is usuallyarranged on its broad side, the opening or drip hole in the package isusually arranged next to the longitudinal seam in the area of thepackage gable, and good accessibility to the opening or drip holefacilitates secure mounting of the tear-off strip, so the mandrels 8 ofthe mandrel wheels 9, 9′ in FIGS. 2 and 3 are each rotated by 90° withrespect to those of known filling machines 6. The longitudinal seam ofthe package sheathing is thus arranged on the axial outside of mandrelwheel 9 or 9′ on which the device 15 is arranged for mounting thetear-off strip.

A transfer station 17 is provided with the mandrel wheel 9′ in FIG. 3according to the mandrel wheel 9 in FIG. 2; after the bottom isproduced, the package is stripped off from the mandrel at this stationand pushed into a cell in the chain 11. The transfer station is followedin working direction A of filling machine 6 by a sterilization station18, a filling station 19, a gable web seam sealing station 20, a gableshaping station (ear sealing station) 21, a stacker and a deliverydevice.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a device 15 for attaching a tear-offstrip to the coated opening 22 of the package sheathing 5. The moldedpackage sheathing is pushed onto a mandrel 8, serving as a mandrel for asonotrode 23, by means of which a tear-off strip 24, which is preferablymade of a tear-resistant, weldable aluminum strip, is welded to thecoated opening 22 of the package sheathing 5. For this purpose, thetear-off strip 24 is pulled off from supply roll 25 and supplied to theapplication station through supply rollers 26 which are arranged inparallel and convey the tear-off strip by frictional engagement. As soonas the tear-off strip 24 which is to be attached is correctly orientedand is bonded securely enough to the package sheathing 5, it is cut offfrom the supply roll 25 by a cutting device 27. It can be seen that inthis case the wide side of the package sheathing 5 with the coatedopening 22 points in the direction of rotation of the mandrel wheel 9.The mandrel wheel 9 here is rotated in cycles, and the sonotrode 23 isinserted from the outside between two mandrels during the pauses inmovement of mandrel wheel 9 and then is retracted again after weldingthe sealable tear-off strip 24 to the respective mandrel.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of this invention. In contrast with theembodiments illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, the tear-off strip is notapplied to the mandrel 8 of a mandrel wheel 9, but instead is appliedalong the cell chain 11 between the transfer station and the asepticstation 28 by means of a welding or gluing device 15 and an anvil 8 a.The package sheathing 5 is again supplied in a stack 16 to the fillingmachine across its working direction A, so that the coated opening ofpackage sheathing 5 in the chain points outward. The wide sides of thepackage sheathing 5 or mandrel 8 thus run parallel to the workingdirection A of the filling machine. The mandrel wheel 9 here servesexclusively as a guide for the package sheathing 5 during the sealing ofthe bottom. The other stations along the chain 11 correspond to those inFIG. 3.

If package sheathings 5 are supplied to the filling machine across theworking direction as in the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5,the machine is designed to be relatively broad, because the magazineswith the stacks 16 are then arranged across the longitudinal axis of thefilling machine. A filling machine with a narrow design can beimplemented if the package sheathing 5 is rotated by approximately 90°between the respective magazine 7 and the position where the tear-offstrip is attached. This is illustrated in schematic diagrams in FIG. 6for a filling machine with two production lines, where the arrow Aindicates working direction of the machine. It can be seen here that theleft package sheathing which is already shaped here is rotated 90°clockwise in the filling machine, while the package sheathing on theright which is also already shaped is rotated counterclockwise by 90°.The different directions of rotation lead to an offset of applicationsites 28 for the tear-off strips in the production lines. However, bothapplication sites 28 face outward and are thus readily accessible.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of producing a laminated package with anopening that is sealed by a tear-off strip, said method comprising thesteps of: punching out said opening in a packaging material; coatingsaid packaging material at least in the area of said opening; creating apackage sleeve from said packaging material; conveying said packagesleeve onto a mandrel of a mandrel wheel driven in cycles having atleast two mandrels upstream from a filling machine for filling saidlaminated package; and attaching said tear-off strip to said opening insaid package sleeve, wherein said tear-off strip is applied using atleast one welding device which is inserted between said two mandrels andis retracted again after said tear-off strip has been welded.